• (n.) A literal adherent to, or a minute critic of, words; a literalist.
Ver'bal·ist noun A literal adherent to, or a minute critic of, words; a literalist. 
verbalist 1. Someone who is skilled in the use of words, but often at the expense of ideas and reality. 2. One who is skilled in the use or knowledge of words. 3. Someone who tends to concentrate on words or language rather than on things such as facts, feelings, or ideas.